This invention relates to an easy engagement type connector assembly. Connector assemblies having a number of terminals require a large engaging force. In order to overcome the difficulty; i.e., to reduce the engaging force as much as possible, a variety of connector assemblies have been proposed in the art.
An example of the connector assemblies thus proposed is a so-called "easy" engagement type connector assembly or turning-engagement type connector assembly, as shown in FIG. 6. The connector assembly includes a male connector 30 and a female connector 31. The male connector 30 is provided below a female connector 31. The male connector 30 and the female connector 31 include a male housing 32 and a female housing 33, respectively, that are engageable with each other. The male housing 32 has a raised piece 34 on one side that is integral with the male housing 32. The raised piece 34 has a recess 36 that is adapted to hold the supporting shaft 35 of the female connector 31. The supporting shaft 35 is provided outside the female housing 33. The supporting shaft 35 is fitted in the recess 36, which allows the female connector 31 to swing about the supporting shaft 35, to thereby engage with the male connector 30. The female housing 33 has a locking piece 37 on the side that is opposite to the side where the supporting shaft 35 is provided, while the male housing 32 also has a locking piece 38 on the side that is opposite to the side where the raised piece 34 is provided.
When the male and female connectors 30 and 31 engage, the locking piece 38 of the female connector 31 is engaged with the locking edge 42 of the locking piece 37 of the male connector 30, to lock the male and female connectors to each other.
The conventional engagement type connector assembly suffers from several problems. That is, in the conventional connector assembly, the female housing 33 is aligned with the male housing 32 while describing an arcuate locus; that is, the female terminals 39 approach the male terminals 40 obliquely from above. Therefore, in order to smoothly engage the female terminals with the male terminals, the female terminals 39 must have inlets 41 (FIG. 7) that are widely opened for insertion of the male terminals 40. Accordingly, in the conventional connector assembly, the female terminals 39 require large amounts of space between each electrode, which results in a bulky connector assembly.